column

[kol-uh m] /ˈkɒl əm/
noun
1.
Architecture.
  1. a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces.
  2. a decorative pillar, most often composed of stone and typically having a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and usually a base.
2.
any columnlike object, mass, or formation:
a column of smoke.
3.
a vertical row or list:
Add this column of figures.
4.
a vertical arrangement on a page of horizontal lines of type, usually typographically justified:
There are three columns on this page.
5.
a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually having a readily identifiable heading and the byline of the writer or editor, that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest, as politics, theater, or etiquette, or which may contain letters from readers, answers to readers' queries, etc.
6.
a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction (distinguished from line).
7.
a formation of ships in single file.
8.
Botany. a columnlike structure in an orchid flower, composed of the united stamens and style.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English columne < Latin columna, equivalent to colum(e)n peak + -a feminine ending; akin to excel; replacing late Middle English colompne < Anglo-French < Latin, as above
Related forms
columned
[kol-uh md] /ˈkɒl əmd/ (Show IPA), columnated
[kol-uh m-ney-tid] /ˈkɒl əmˌneɪ tɪd/ (Show IPA), adjective
Synonyms
1. Column, pillar refer to upright supports in architectural structures. Pillar is the general word: the pillars supporting the roof. A column is a particular kind of pillar, especially one with an identifiable shaft, base, and capital: columns of the Corinthian order.
Examples from the web for column
  • Today's restorers have been replacing damaged column segments with fresh marble.
  • Plus, the thing that really sets them apart is the reproductive structure in the center of the flower, which is called the column.
  • It rests on a small column that turns slowly to show the jewel in four directions.
  • Then an establishment newspaper offered him a column-writing about foreign, but not domestic, affairs.
  • It was chance to get on the net and found your column which is quite interesting to read.
  • Ask them to write descriptions of these three customs in each of the rows in the left-hand column of their charts.
  • Have each student create a two-column chart with five rows, leaving plenty of room in each row for notes.
  • Trillions of diatoms, zooplankton, and crustaceans pepper the ice column.
  • While in their larval stage, giant clams must swim and feed in the water column.
  • The walls are painted red and gold, and elaborate dragons wrap around each column.
British Dictionary definitions for column

column

/ˈkɒləm/
noun
1.
an upright post or pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital
2.
  1. a form or structure in the shape of a column: a column of air
  2. a monument
3.
a row, line, or file, as of people in a queue
4.
(military) a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other
5.
(journalism)
  1. any of two or more vertical sections of type on a printed page, esp on a newspaper page
  2. a regular article or feature in a paper: the fashion column
6.
a vertical array of numbers or mathematical terms
7.
(botany) a long structure in a flower, such as that of an orchid, consisting of the united stamens and style
8.
(anatomy, zoology) any elongated structure, such as a tract of grey matter in the spinal cord or the stalk of a crinoid
Derived Forms
columnar (kəˈlʌmnə) adjective
columned, columnated (ˈkɒləmˌneɪtɪd) adjective
Word Origin
C15: from Latin columna, from columen top, peak; related to Latin collis hill
Word Origin and History for column
n.

mid-15c., "vertical division of a page," also "a pillar, post," from Old French colombe (12c., Modern French colonne "column, pillar"), from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE root *kel- "to project" (see hill). Sense of "matter written for a newspaper" dates from 1785.

column in Medicine

column col·umn (kŏl'əm)
n.
Any of various tubular or pillarlike supporting structures in the body, such as the spinal column, each generally having a single tissue origin and function.

column in Technology


1. A named slice through a database table that includes the same field of each row. For example, a telephone directory table might have a row for each person with a name column and a telephone number column.
2. A line of memory cells in a dynamic random-access memory, that is selected by a particular column address.
(2007-10-12)